Ninkasi’s Maiden the Shade is a limited release summer IPA. I haven’t actually had this beer but the label is really interesting. The artwork is by Jerry Garcia‘s daughter Annabelle Garcia. Annabelle also did the artwork for Ninkasi’s Lady of Avalon. The Maiden the Shade label depicts a woman with glowing blue eyes kneeling beneath a blue tree while a small winged demon or sprite paints the Ninkasi Brewing logo on her back. The tree has an unhappy looking face, also with glowing blue eyes. The woman has willow like branches for hair and blue clothing that match her eyes. The maiden may be the Sumerian goddess of beer for which the brewery is named.
The font choice must be a deliberate tribute to the band Iron Maiden, who uses the same font on their albums.
Founding brewer Jamie Floyd describes the beer:
